The publisher has classified this movie as a drama, but if you asked me, it belongs in the horror category.
Regardless of preference in genre, this movie has accomplished its goal of becoming the top offering in the streaming service. Take my word for it; I haven’t been able to think of a better film to compare this to.
Please keep reading to find out why I made such a statement.
About The Witcher: Blood Origin
Andrzej Sapkowski’s The Witcher novels inspired Declan de Barra and Lauren Schmidt Hissrich’s fantasy miniseries The Witcher: Blood Origin. It came out before “The Witcher” did. The four-episode series premiered on Netflix on December 25, 2022.
The Witcher: Blood Origin Premiere
Blood Origin, set 1,200 years before the events of The Witcher TV series tells the story of how the first Witcher came to be and what led up to the “Conjunction of the Spheres.” It also looks into Elven’s history up until the time of their demise.
The Witcher: Blood Origin Cast
Main Cast
- Sophia Brown as Éile
- Laurence O’Fuarain as Fjail
- Lenny Henry as Chief Druid Balor
- Joey Batey as Jaskkier
- Lizzie Annis as Zacare
- Francesca Mils as Meldof
- Huw Novelli as Callen
- Amy Murray as Fenrick
- Dylan Moran as Uthrok one-nuts
Cast Supporting
- Ella Schrey-Yeats as Ithlinne
- Karlina Grace-Paseda as Cethlenn
- Shanika Ocean as young Cethlenn
- Mark Rowley as Alvatir
- Samuel Blenkin as Avallac’h
- Aidan O’Callaghan as Kareg
- Ozioma Whenu as Níamh
- Kim Adis as Ket
- Hebe Beardsall as Catrin
The Witcher: Blood Origin Summary
In the pilot episode, Jaskier is saved from certain death at the hands of an enemy soldier by a creature that freezes time. It introduces itself as the story-collecting being Sencha and claims to have chosen Jaskier to recount the events leading up to the Conjunction of the Spheres and the birth of the first Witcher in the Legend of the Seven.
Jaskier records Sencha’s tale, and it all starts with a lark. She was once known as Éile, a Raven Clan warrior tasked with protecting the monarch of the mighty elf country of Pryshia. To escape her life as a warrior, Éile rebranded herself as “the Lark” and set off as a travelling bard.
While in prison, she meets Fjall, a former Dog Clan warrior tasked with protecting the king of Xin’trea. Fjall’s father banished him from the kingdom because he had an affair with Princess Merwyn, the oddball sister of King Alvitir. Merwyn is convinced that repeating events from the past are inevitable, and she has an unhealthy obsession with Solryth.
Until they discover they are both inactive clan members, the Lark and the Fjall threaten each other. Lark attacks Fjall and takes his jewellery once he is freed from prison. Fjall’s younger cousin, who bailed him out of jail, now wants him to return to Xin’trea with his father having lifted his banishment because of a peace deal between Xin’trea and Pryshia.
In the second episode, we meet Meldof, a dwarven lady armed with a war hammer named Gwen, who has travelled to an elven brothel in quest of an elf known only as “Talyyson of the One Eye.” After being sent away, she forces her way in, where she finds Talyyson and murders him. While doing so, she takes out her vengeance on a woman named Gwen, whose name she had written on the wall alongside the memorial for Talyyson.
Meanwhile, Merwyn is attacked inside the castle, but the youthful apprentice wizard Avallac’h comes to his aid. While she travels out in disguise to discover what is beyond the royal walls, she appoints him as her bodyguard and orders him to spy on Balor and steal Syndril’s book.
Syndril and Zacaré showed up to the celebration with the intention of using a monolith to force their way into the palace courtyard. Syndril is trying to reopen the gate when an aquatic creature attacks. So that the original three may focus on Merwyn and the dark beast, the aim is to destroy Ard Gaeth, the master monolith. Syndril forces the portal open, and the group finds themselves in a world with two moons, despite having agreed to move on to the next monolith.
When the party quickly exits through the gate again in episode three, they discover they are closer to Xin’trea than they had previously thought. Meldorf is found hiding from Balor’s beast as they leave. She shelters them in a cavern and fills them in on the party lore already making the rounds.
They discuss strategies for defeating Balor’s beast, and Syndril suggests that the two of them create a hybrid monster that Syndril can use to exert command over and destroy Balor. This concept aggravates Zacaré. In light of Ithlinne’s prophecy, Éile proposes a union with the beast: “two apart shall become two as one.” Due to the inevitable outcome of this fusion, she has requested a wake to celebrate her life.
In episode four, we see the horrific spectacle of Balor sacrificing Fenrik to achieve permanent control over chaos magic.
The heroes disguise themselves as Xin’trean troops and go to the planet, carrying Fjall as a captive. Scian brings Fjall to the royal room to be rewarded for her efforts, but the Empress tricks her into thinking she will receive a reward and instead has her head cut off with the Ghost clan’s holy sword. Princess Merwyn likewise tries to recruit Fjall to her side.
Fjall frees Merwyn from his shackles and eliminates his guards, allowing Merwyn to make his getaway. To end Merwyn’s life, Éile finds her and stabs her with a sword before leaving her to die alone. It is revealed that Éile is carrying Fjall’s kid, who will have extraordinary skills, by burning his body on a funeral pyre. After the spheres collide, people start showing up on the continent.
Before his buddies can aid him, the episode closes with Jaskier hastily writing down the entire story on a scrap of paper.
The Witcher: Blood Origin Production
In July 2020, Netflix said they would be producing a six-part miniseries to serve as a prologue to their adaptation of the novels by Andrzej Sapkowski. For the role of showrunner, the studio has chosen Declan de Barra. In January 2021, Jodie Turner-Smith was selected to play the lead role in the series. Despite Turner-Smith’s schedule concerns, Laurence O’Fuarain joined the cast in March 2021. In July 2021, Michelle Yeoh replaced Sophie Turner, who Sophia Brown replaced.
More actors like Lenny Henry, Mirren Mack, Nathaniel Curtis, and Dylan Moran have been confirmed since filming began in the UK in August 2021.
The first trailer for the series premiered on December 17, 2021, and a second teaser trailer premiered on November 10, 2022.
As the adage goes, “Seeing is Believing,” and unless you watch this film for yourself, you won’t fully understand how amazing it is.
